Two intense and historic rivalries take center stage during Week 6 of the Class 3A football season.
One matchup – Douglass vs. Cedar Grove -- is a tale of redemption, while the other – No. 2 Peach County vs. Northside-Warner Robins -- is a Middle Georgia rivalry that dates to the 1970s.
Douglass-Atlanta has played Cedar Grove (0-3) nine times but has not beaten Cedar Grove since 2003. And since Stanley Pritchett took over the No. 7-ranked Astros program in 2021, his team has failed to score against the former-perennial power and Region 5 rival Saints.
Historically, it has been a long road for the Astros in the Region 5 race while facing some of the top programs in the class, including top-ranked Sandy Creek, Cedar Grove and Carver-Atlanta.
But this season seems different.
“It’s a big game,” said Douglass head coach Stanley Pritchett.
Douglass (2-2) defeated No. 8 LaGrange, then-No. 3, in the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic before losing back-to-back games against Westlake 23-7 and Mays 20-19. It righted the ship two weeks ago against Columbia, 46-21.
“Cedar Grove, these last couple of years have pretty much dominated us,” Pritchett said. “So we are looking to close that gap and see how we match up.”
John Wilson is leading the Astros with 600 passing yards, 150 rushing yards and six touchdowns. Antonine Watkins has 250 rushing yards and a touchdown, and Quantavious Boykin has 150 receiving yards with a touchdown. On defense, Andreco Griggs has 40 tackles; John Amofah Jr has 26 tackles and three tackles for loss, and Euragon Grey has 15 tackles and three tackles for loss.
“The guys have been working hard this week,” Pritchett said. “We just want to get on that field and compete, and I think we have a shot (Friday).”
In the other notable matchup, Peach County (3-1) will play host to Northside-Warner Robins (2-2) for the 21sttime.
Marquis Westbrook took over the Peach program last season and lost to Northside 28-17, but the program showed promise against No. 4 Savannah Christian before losing its first-round playoff matchup 48-46 in four overtimes. Northside leads the series 15-5. Peach won back-to-back games in 2018 and 2019, breaking a streak of eight-consecutive Northside victories.
No. 4 Jefferson, No. 6 Cherokee Bluff, No. 9 Cairo and No. 10 Calhoun are idle.
Class 3A Top-10 schedule
1. (1) Sandy Creek (4-0) at Trinity Chrisitan
2. (4) Peach County (3-1) vs. Northside-Warner Robins
3. (5) Monroe Area (3-0) at Hart County
4. (2) Jefferson (3-2) rests.
5. (6) Northwest Whitfield (4-0) vs. Gilmer
6. (7) Cherokee Bluff (5-0) rests.
7. (8) Douglass (2-2) at Cedar Grove
8. (9) LaGrange (3-2) vs. Spalding (Thursday)
9. (NR) Cairo (2-2) rests.
10. (10) Calhoun (1-3) rests.
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